Archive for the ‘Mission’ Category

“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’” Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)

Zacchaeus demonstrated the same kind of faith that Abraham evidenced in the Old Testament when he was willing to sacrifice his only son. In response to Abraham’s obedience, God provided a ram as a substitute (Gen. 22:12-13). God provided salvation to Zacchaeus in response to his saving faith in Jesus. The divine appointment impacted his entire house. When Jesus shows up, everything changes.

After pronouncing that salvation had come to the home of Zacchaeus, Jesus clarified His life mission. Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost. In the language of the New Testament, the Greek word for lost literally means “in the wrong place.” The lost sheep was in the wrong place (Luke 15:4-7). The lost coin was in the wrong place (Luke 15:8-10). The prodigal son was in the wrong place (Luke 15:11-25). In our text here, Zacchaeus was in the wrong place.

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is in the wrong place. I remember when I was in the wrong place and Jesus came to my rescue. Perhaps you remember being in the wrong place and you remember how Jesus came to your rescue.

His mission is our mission. The reason Jesus came is the same reason you are alive. Jesus wants you to be on mission with Him to seek and to save those who are in the wrong place. You have the key to the right place. You know the One who gave His life so that you can know eternal life and be able to share that gift with others.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’” Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)

Zacchaeus demonstrated the same kind of faith that Abraham evidenced in the Old Testament when he was willing to sacrifice his only son. In response to Abraham’s obedience, God provided a ram as a substitute (Gen. 22:12-13). God provided salvation to Zacchaeus in response to his saving faith in Jesus. The divine appointment impacted his entire house. When Jesus shows up, everything changes.

After pronouncing that salvation had come to the home of Zacchaeus, Jesus clarified His life mission. Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost. In the language of the New Testament, the Greek word for lost literally means “in the wrong place.” The lost sheep was in the wrong place (Luke 15:4-7). The lost coin was in the wrong place (Luke 15:8-10). The prodigal son was in the wrong place (Luke 15:11-25). In our text here, Zacchaeus was in the wrong place.

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is in the wrong place. I remember when I was in the wrong place and Jesus came to my rescue. Perhaps you remember being in the wrong place and you remember how Jesus came to your rescue.

His mission is our mission. The reason Jesus came is the same reason you are alive. Jesus wants you to be on mission with Him to seek and to save those who are in the wrong place. You have the key to the right place. You know the One who gave His life so that you can know eternal life and be able to share that gift with others.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”Matt 28:18-20 (NIV)

The Great Commission is our mission.

I live in awe of the reality that God would choose someone like to me to be adopted into His family, to be included in His redemption story, and to be empowered for His redemptive mission. If you have turned your life over to Jesus Christ and allowed Him to become the Lord of your life, you to have been adopted, included, and empowered by God and for God. Your life has true meaning and your life matters to God and directly impacts the population of heaven.

You have been given authority by Jesus to make disciples of all people groups. Now that’s something worth giving your life to! Don’t get distracted by materialism and the pursuit of prestige. Don’t allow your passion for God and His redemptive activity to be dissolved by the pursuit of worldly pleasures. Laser focus your life on that which moves the heart of God. Give your life to influencing people for Christ. As you go, make disciples. Maximize every opportunity that God gives you to make Jesus known. You may be the only Jesus others see.

Reveal God’s love to every person you come into contact with. Be an irresistible influence for Christ on this broken planet called earth. Reveal the grace you have been given by God to others. Reveal the mercy you have received through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. Reveal the hope to others that you have come to know firsthand.

Pursuing God,

Stephen TrammellExecutive Pastor(This devotional was originally posted in ’07 or ’08. I’m taking a break from writing for a season of personal renewal.)
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell

“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’”Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)

Zacchaeus demonstrated the same kind of faith that Abraham evidenced in the Old Testament when he was willing to sacrifice his only son. In response to Abraham’s obedience, God provided a ram as a substitute (Gen. 22:12-13). God provided salvation to Zacchaeus in response to his saving faith in Jesus. The divine appointment impacted his entire house. When Jesus shows up, everything changes.

After pronouncing that salvation had come to the home of Zacchaeus, Jesus clarified His life mission. Jesus came to seek and to save what was lost. In the language of the New Testament, the Greek word for lost literally means “in the wrong place.” The lost sheep was in the wrong place (Luke 15:4-7). The lost coin was in the wrong place (Luke 15:8-10). The prodigal son was in the wrong place (Luke 15:11-25). In our text here, Zacchaeus was in the wrong place.

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is in the wrong place. I remember when I was in the wrong place and Jesus came to my rescue. Perhaps you remember being in the wrong place and you remember how Jesus came to your rescue.

His mission is our mission. The reason Jesus came is the same reason you are alive. Jesus wants you to be on mission with Him to seek and to save those who are in the wrong place. You have the key to the right place. You know the One who gave His life so that you can know eternal life and be able to share that gift with others.

“Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” Luke 5:31-32 (NIV)

The Pharisees missed their reason for existence. They thought the purpose of life was to be religious and to strictly observe their legalistic religious customs. They thought too highly of themselves and critically judged others through the grid of their own rigid religious system. Jesus ministered among the Pharisees and often spoke directly to them, yet they missed the Messiah.

Jesus clarified His purpose as that of calling sinners to repentance. Jesus came to build the Kingdom of God with those who need His mercy, His grace, and His forgiveness the most. The self-righteous behavior of the Pharisees blinded them from the truth. The Truth was standing right in front of them and they missed Him!

Jesus came to call people just like you and me to repentance. We were bankrupt spiritually and morally before Jesus came to our rescue. We were enemies of God and saturated in our sinfulness and selfishness. We were unfit and unclean for entry into the Kingdom of God. Our greatest need was for the Great Physician to remedy us from our spiritual disease and to restore us to a right relationship with Himself. Jesus provided the opportunity for us to turn from our sin and to trust Him alone for salvation.

His mission is our mission. Now, simplify and focus your life on bringing others into a growing relationship with Jesus. Your assignment from the Lord is to be actively populating Heaven.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”Matt 28:18-20 (NIV)

The Great Commission is our mission.

I live in awe of the reality that God would choose someone like to me to be adopted into His family, to be included in His redemption story, and to be empowered for His redemptive mission. If you have turned your life over to Jesus Christ and allowed Him to become the Lord of your life, you to have been adopted, included, and empowered by God and for God. Your life has true meaning and your life matters to God and directly impacts the population of heaven.

You have been given authority by Jesus to make disciples of all people groups. Now that’s something worth giving your life to! Don’t get distracted by materialism and the pursuit of prestige. Don’t allow your passion for God and His redemptive activity to be dissolved by the pursuit of worldly pleasures. Laser focus your life on that which moves the heart of God. Give your life to influencing people for Christ. As you go, make disciples. Maximize every opportunity that God gives you to make Jesus known. You may be the only Jesus others see.

Reveal God’s love to every person you come into contact with. Be an irresistible influence for Christ on this broken planet called earth. Reveal the grace you have been given by God to others. Reveal the mercy you have received through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. Reveal the hope to others that you have come to know firsthand.

“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”Acts 1:8 (NIV)

Have you ever witnessed a wedding ceremony? As a pastor, I usually conduct the wedding ceremony, but there are occasions when I get to simply sit with my family and witness a ceremony. Recently, we attended an outdoor wedding that was as close to a dream wedding as you can imagine. The weather was perfect, the outdoor decorations were captivating, and the ceremony was Christ exalting. The love the bride and groom had for each other permeated like a breeze in a field of wild flowers.

I can share details with you about the wedding ceremony because I experienced it for myself. I was there and I can testify of every element featured in the ceremony. Did you realize that you are commanded by God to be His witness? You are to testify of His saving power. You are to testify of His redeeming love. You are to be His witness to this lost and dying world that Jesus died for.

As a witness of the transforming love of God, you are to be an irresistible influence in your city, your state, your country, and the world. You have been placed on earth with the most incredible and the most important mission to employ. Your mission is to be a witness for Jesus. Your purpose is to represent Jesus in every conversation, every interaction, and every connection He provides.

What kind of witness are you? Your life, as a witness, will either draw people to Christ or repel them from Christ.

“Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Eph 5:15-16 (NIV)

“‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”Matt 28:19-20 (NIV)

You cannot spell God without “go.” You cannot spell gospel with “go.” You are commissioned by God to go for Him. In this powerful passage we call the Great Commission; Jesus gives clear marching orders for the church of the living God. His commission is your mission. You are not on earth to occupy space and convert oxygen into carbon dioxide. There’s more in store for you than simply existing on this broken planet called earth. God has an assignment for you that is bigger than you and beyond your ability to fulfill on your own. God’s plan for your life demands His supernatural provision.

God loves variety and created diversity. What moves the heart of God is for the body of Christ to come together in unity to fulfill the Great Commission. The command is for you to make disciples of all people groups. How can you pull off an assignment of that magnitude? God never calls you without equipping you. His commission includes His provision. As you go, you make disciples of all people groups by relying on God’s power. When you were born again, God empowered you by indwelling you with His Holy Spirit. You have a choice to operate in your own strength or in His strength.

God’s power is reserved for His greatest task. When you choose to participate in fulfilling the Great Commission, God unleashes His power in your life. You become a demonstration of His supernatural provision.

Are you willing to become a Great Commission Christian? God’s power is awaiting your response!

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’”Mark 1:17 (NIV)

There’s no place like being in the center of God’s will. Living outside of God’s will is like trying to sprint with ankle weights on. When you live each day in the center of God’s will, there is tremendous freedom, joy, peace, and meaning. You move from success to significance. You begin to live in light of eternity.

You are called by Jesus to come into relationship with Him. As you abide in Christ and grow in Him, He develops you into His fully devoted follower. Think in terms of a journey instead of a destination. Your eternal destination is secure. Now focus on the journey of knowing Jesus, growing in Him, and going for Him into the world. Through your intimate relationship with Jesus, He grooms you to become a fisher of men. Your life becomes devoted to bringing others into the Kingdom of God. You embrace the Christmas Mission of sharing the salvation story with others.

You are called to make an eternal difference in the lives of those God brings into your path. God’s will is for you to know Jesus personally and to make Him known locally and globally. Your Christmas Mission is to share God’s love 365 days a year. There’s never a moment for you to not be on mission.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”John 3:16 (NIV)

Travel down memory lane with me for a moment. Think about your Christmas experiences as a child. What do you remember as the most meaningful gift you received? Can you still feel the excitement of the anticipation of the gift? That experience is locked in your memory because it was special to you.

The ultimate gift in this life is the gift of eternal life. There is no greater gift and there is no greater demonstration of God’s love. The moment you recognized your sin and accepted God’s provision for your forgiveness through your faith in Jesus, you received the ultimate gift. Let me ask you a question. Do you know that God is for you?

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”Romans 5:8 (NIV)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans 6:23 (NIV)

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)

Consider the individuals currently in your sphere of influence. Have they received the ultimate gift? Have you responded to the Christmas Mission by sharing your salvation story with them? Are you willing to be used of God to make Jesus known to those God places in your path?